


John Murphy: Apocalyptic Hairdresser

by DianaandAlicia



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Memori is canon like it was in season 4 it's just in the background for this fic, Mild Hurt/Comfort, at Becca's mansion, during episode 4x07, set in season 4
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-19
Updated: 2020-10-19
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:42:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27110656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DianaandAlicia/pseuds/DianaandAlicia
Summary: When Clarke's hair is too tangled to take care of, Murphy steps up to help his friend out.
Relationships: Clarke Griffin & John Murphy, Clarke Griffin & Nathan Miller, Clarke Griffin & Raven Reyes, Emori/John Murphy (The 100)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 22





	John Murphy: Apocalyptic Hairdresser

**Author's Note:**

> So I got this idea after thinking about how Clarke managed to make her hair from season 3 look good in season 4 and then this story was born. All the characters will probably appear ooc, but that's ok because it's my story, I can do what I want.

It had been almost a half hour since Clarke arrived at Becca’s mansion and went up to take a shower and Murphy and Emori were still in the kitchen. They were cleaning up after putting dinner in the slow cooker and were about to go hang out in their room and have some time to rest when Clarke came down, wearing a robe.

“Murphy?”

“Yeah?”

“Can you help me with something?” She asked, and that was when Murphy saw that she looked upset with something, and like she was going to cry.

“Sure. What’s up?” He asked, knowing that she was still vulnerable, and remembered that she had just lost Lexa only a short time ago. She had gone through a lot in the past few months and he could tell that what she needed help with might break her if he said no.

Without a word, Clarke slowly turned around and showed Murphy her hair, which was matted and tangled beyond belief, looking like a waterlogged rat's nest.

“I can’t untangle it.” She whispered, and Murphy could hear the frustration in her voice.

“Let me get a closer look.” He said gently, coming over and getting a better view of her hair. He knew it was a lost cause from the start, but he didn’t want to make Clarke feel bad. There was no running away from it, but for the past few months, ever since she left after Mount Weather, Clarke hadn’t been taking care of her hair. It had grown much longer than what Murphy last remembered it before he left with Jaha, and it was so matted that it looked like a solid mass of tangles, unsalvageable at this point. But Murphy wanted to at least try for her.

“Did you wash it?”

“I couldn’t. It was so tangled; I didn’t want to put shampoo in and then not be able to rinse it out. Plus, the water made it too heavy. It’s starting to give me a headache.”

“Ok. I’ll be honest with you Clarke, I will not make any specific promises, but I will try my best to help you. How about you go back up to the bathroom and I’ll call Raven and Miller on the radio, to see if they can come and help, ok?” He asked, knowing that if Clarke needed support, the two would be the best to bring in. Neither Raven or Miller would criticize her and he knew that he needed help. Clarke didn’t know Emori well enough to be comfortable with her and he knew that if Abby found out, it wouldn’t end well. Her mother would probably berate her and blame her, calling her lazy for not taking care of herself. No, Abby knowing would only make things worse.

Clarke nodded and went back upstairs, and once Miller and Raven came to the house, they followed Murphy to the bathroom, and found Clarke leaning against the counter, still in her robe.

“Alright Clarke. Let me see.” Raven said gently, looking the blonde’s hair over as she turned around.

“Do you think we can do anything with it?”

“I’m not sure. There are only two things that might be able to help. Other than that, we might have to cut it.” Raven responded, before going over to the bathroom closet.

“These, I think, are the only things that might let us keep the hair.” She said, holding a bottle of conditioner in one hand and some spray bottle in the other hand.

“First, wash it. Don’t worry about shampoo yet, but use a shit load of conditioner. Conditioner is what makes hair easier to brush. Then, after you do that, as you brush, spray this detangler in her hair. If these don’t work, then we might have to give Clarke a haircut.”

“Wouldn’t all of this make her hair greasy though?”

“I mean, yeah, for the time being. But once we get her hair in order, we can always rewash it.”

“I hope this works.” Murphy whispered, not wanting to think about cutting Clarke’s hair. He didn’t know how to cut hair and was worried he’d screw it up, and also, he didn’t want to do any body modifications on Clarke without her consent. Even if hair grew back and it wasn’t the biggest deal in the world, he wanted Clarke to make the decision herself. If she ended up being fine with a haircut, then by all means, but she didn’t seem the most excited when Raven talked about it, so he hoped the conditioner and detangling spray worked.

After getting everything in order, Raven was needed back in the lab, so Murphy and Miller took over, promising they’d call Raven back if they really needed her. Since Clarke needed to be in the shower to be able to condition properly, she was in the bathroom changing into an old bra and a pair of panties, to keep herself somewhat covered. She knew Murphy and Miller didn’t care, but she didn’t want to make them uncomfortable in anyway, and vice versa.

While she was changing, the guys waited in the hallway, having a small conversation with each other.

“I don’t see why we can’t cut it. Clarke would look good with a bob, or at the very least having it by her shoulders.”

“I know, but she didn’t really seem on board with a haircut and I don’t want to do anything if she doesn’t consent. I only want to cut her hair if it comes to it.”

For a half hour, Murphy would cover Clarke’s hair, especially the middle and lower areas with conditioner, let it sit for two minutes and then rinse it out, repeating the cycle for the thirty minutes.

After that was done, she sat on a stool with Murphy behind her, a hairbrush in hand. Miller was sitting on another stool in front of her, trying to keep her distracted, trying not to wince at the sound of Murphy ripping the brush through her hair.

Her whimpers and squeaks of pain were not helping.

“Clarke you have to stay as still as possible.” Miller tried to coax, seeing Clarke put her head down in her hands and let out a strangled whimper. He knew that Murphy was being as gentle as he could while still getting the tangles out, but her constantly moving her head around was not helping him.

“He’s hurting my hair.” Clarke said, tears starting to fall.

“I’m sorry it hurts Clarke, but if I brush it too softly, nothing will untangle. I’m trying my hardest to be gentle.” Murphy said, stopping mid brush stroke to squeeze Clarke’s hand.

“I know. I’m sorry.” Clarke said, grateful that Murphy was actually doing this for her.

“It’s ok.” Murphy said gently, spritzing some detangler in her hair and running the brush through the area. “Just try to keep your head still.”

After twenty minutes, it was clear that the conditioner and detangler weren’t working. Some parts of Clarke’s hair were starting to get smoother, but Murphy knew that at this point cutting it was the best option, unless he wanted to stand there brushing Clarke’s hair for five more hours.

“Clarke, I won’t do this unless you fully consent to it, but how would you feel about me cutting your hair? I honestly think it’s the best thing we can do for you right now.”

“You’re not  gonna shave my head, are you?”

“Oh God no. Clarke, the worst of your hair is at your shoulder blades and below. If I cut your hair so it’s just touching your shoulders, I can wash it and brush it and it’ll look great. The top of your hair to your shoulders looks ok. Maybe ten minutes of brushing at most would control it. This stuff at the bottom though, I don’t think I can fix it.”

“Promise you won’t take more than up to my shoulders?”

“I promise. And Miller will be here too. What do you say Clarke? Are you ready to get this over with?”

Clarke thought about it for a few seconds before nodding. She trusted Murphy. He hasn’t said anything horrible to her during this whole ordeal, and after his response to what he witnessed with Lexa, she knew that he did care about her.

“Alright. I need you to stay as still as possible while I do this. Keep looking at Miller and do not move your head. I’ll try my hardest to keep it even, but I need you to stay still.”

“Ok.” Clarke said quietly, and Murphy picked up a scissors, getting to work right away.

Considering he had never cut hair in his life; he did a pretty decent job with lining it up. Clarke’s hair just touched her shoulders and all the heavy, matted mess was on the floor. If there were any uneven areas, they were barely  noticeable and easy to fix.

“It’s not heavy anymore.” Clarke’s voice broke the silence, and both Murphy and Miller smiled.

“Well, that’s really good to hear Clarke. It looks really good already, but let's wash it and then blow-dry and brush it so it looks and feels really nice.” He said, helping Clarke off the stool and back into the shower so he could wash it.

Twenty minutes later, Clarke’s hair was good as new. After brushing and drying it, it looked fantastic, and just like what her hair looked like when the drop ship landed. Plus, some of her curls were starting to come back, and the blonde looked so much happier and confident than she did when she started.

“There we go Clarke, what do you think?” Murphy asked, handing Clarke a little mirror so she could see what her hair looked like from the back.

“It looks perfect. Thank  you, Murphy .” She said, smiling and giving him a huge hug.

“No problem. I just need you to promise me one thing.”

“Yeah?”

“Promise me that from now on, you’ll brush your hair at least twice a day so this doesn’t happen again.”

“Oh, I promise. I’ll never let my hair get like that again.” 

“That’s good to hear. Let’s go downstairs and show everyone.” He  suggested , and Clarke led the way to the main floor, with Murphy and Miller behind her.

Raven and Emori were in the kitchen, getting some food out of the slow cooker, and paused when Clarke entered the kitchen.

“Better?” She asked the two, spinning to show them the back.

“Much better.” Emori said, smiling at Clarke.

“Holy shit Murphy, I didn’t think of you as a miracle worker.” Raven joked, admiring the job he did.

“Well, Clarke’s done so much for us, it would only be fair to help her in her time of need.” He said gently, just happy that her hair was fixed and she was actually smiling a genuine smile because of it. It made him feel happy, and useful. With so much stress, a little bit of happiness was much deserved.

And hey, if they survived Praimfaya, maybe he could become a hairdresser.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, I hope you like it!


End file.
